Daylight Savings Time, 2021

 

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7 ESV).

 

Tonight at midnight, Sunday, March 14, A 2021 D, most of us are supposed to set our clocks forward. It is the start of Daylight Savings Time. And, just for the record, that date above isn't a typo. Now if you're reading this devotion for yourself, that date should sound like this: March Fourteenth, A (Anno), 2021 D, (Domini), or March fourteenth in the year 2021 of our Lord. Before Jesus was born, the Western world marked everything from the most important event it could think of, which was the year the city of Rome was founded. Indeed, if Jesus hadn't come, our calendars might be carrying the date: 2774 and not 2021.

The calendar change took place when early Christians compared the importance of the Savior's birth with the founding of a man-made city. Quite frankly, there was no contest. Jesus won hands down and from then on, our calendars proclaim the Savior's birth and remind us He will come again. Truly, Jesus is the one extraordinary individual in history who has had an impact so thorough and complete that people agree even the calendar needed to be changed. Make that most everybody.

I say, most everybody because, as you know, there is a movement to change "BC" or "Before Christ" to "BCE," that is, "Before the Current Era." And if you're wondering if they are taking a shot against Jesus, there is no doubt some of them are. The others, well, the others are just trying to make it so they don't offend anybody by giving preference to Christ and the religion the Holy Spirit has brought into being.

Some folks have gotten pretty animated about the proposed change. They’ve made it a part of a larger movement we’ve called the “cancel culture.” Personally it has not affected me quite so strongly. That's because when people try to banish Jesus from the calendar, it simply emphasizes the strength of the name of Jesus. No matter what you do, you can never ignore the fact that the life of Jesus has changed the world. You cannot deny that Jesus is the One who has made the current era current. It is His coming, and His coming alone, which separates all of human history. Although Paul never heard any of this "CE" and "AD" stuff, he most certainly did understand the importance of Jesus and how the Savior has changed things. That is why the apostle wrote that at the right time, when all was ready, God sent His Son to be born of a woman to rescue us from the Law's condemnation and allow forgiven souls to be adopted into the family of faith. When you change your clocks, think of the incredible truth that Jesus changes eternity for all who believe!